Space is a world of care. For 10 months, an astronaut and two cosmonauts have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS), despite the efforts to rescue them, the situation remains the same.
What would seem like a movie is a real life scenario. A coolant leak in the Russian capsule on the ISS has astronauts “stranded” in space and a micrometeorite would be the culprit.
The trip that was to end in March 2023, with the return of astronauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin (Roscosmos) and Frank Rubio () remains unable to be completed, even a month ago due to a failure they momentarily lost communication with one of the astronauts , how did it happen?
Astronauts in space: 10 months since the incident
What began on September 21, 2022 as a routine mission, on December 14, would become a world alert record.
The Russian Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) started leaking coolant uncontrollablycanceling plans for two Russian cosmonauts to perform.
After having carried out the initial inspections of the vehicle to determine the source of the “suspicious leak“, the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, through Sergei Krikalev, a former cosmonaut who heads the manned space flight program, that the incident may have been caused by a “micrometeorite” that hit the ship and entered the radiator external of the vehicle.
According to Russia, the ship in which the astronauts traveled was intended to avoid risks in case of any problem within the ISS, as well. This new ship would not only serve as an emergency exit, but will also function as your vehicle back to Earth.
However, with this modification, the MS-23 arrived with supplies and not with the relief crew, prolonging their stay for practically a year, since they would return until September 27, 2023.
What is the International Space Station?
The International Space Station is an orbiting research center and interpretation laboratory that synthesizes the scientific knowledge of 16 nations with the goal of maintaining a permanent outpost in space.
Floating about 240 miles (390 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface, the space station has hosted a rotating international crew since November 2000, where astronauts spend no more than 6 months working and researching the space station. space.
It is a joint project of five space agencies: NASA (United States), the Russian Federal Space Agency (Russia), the Japanese Space Exploration Agency (Japan), the Canadian Space Agency (Canada) and the European Space Agency (ESA). ).
A large part of the work carried out on the ISS is related to maintenance, improvements and expansions, although a multitude of experiments are also carried out. The complex is capable of housing up to six astronauts permanently, although restrictions related to the availability of spacecraft (both round trip and emergency) mean that the usual crew, maintained over time, does not exceed three. people.
Rescue attempt that turns out similar
In February 2023, Russia decided on a rescue plan, however it was postponed due to a problem on another of its ships.
The takeoff of the Russian Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, scheduled for February 20, was a priori postponed to the first 10 days of March due to another of the vessels docked to the platform. Despite the severity of the damage, the station crew was not in any danger, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
Both this organization and NASA announced on February 11 that the cooling circuit of the Progress MS-21 cargo ship had suffered a depressurization. According to the space agencies, it would be a damage similar to that received in December by the Soyuz MS-22 personnel transport vehicle, also tied to the ISS, for that reason they decided not to send it and continue with the rescue plan.
An abnormally shaped record
One of the astronauts trapped on the ISS could break the record for longest time in outer space.
This is astronaut and engineer Patrick Rubio, who would break the United States record for the longest space flight. Which belongs to Mark T. Vande Hei, who remained on the International Space Station from April 2021 to March 2022, serving 355 days.
Patrick Rubio could reach up to 371 days because, as we said, the stranded astronauts would return until September 27.